I really liked what rajin saleh had to say for the second practise match with the Poms.

To quote:

Meanwhile, Bangladesh A captain Rajin Saleh Alam has assured England that it will be a different ball game for the tourists as the A side is significantly stronger than BCB President's XI.

"Our team is better than the side that played the previous match. We have experienced cricketers like Javed Omar and Talha Jubair. We are also strengthened by the inclusion of Fahim (Muntasir) now. So hopefully we can play some positive cricket," said Saleh who has been the find of the season for Bangladesh following his debut series exploit in Pakistan.

"We will play with a purpose. If the result is a draw, I wouldn't mind that but I don't want to entertain the idea of following on. I will try my best to lead from the front. If I can bat well, I think my team will be inspired by that," said the 20-year old.

----------------------------

You go Tiger!

BangladeshCricket

October 15, 2003, 10:07 PM

As a hard working cricketer and passionate guy, I salute Rajin. and Also wish him best of luck. But he has to remember that cricket is a game of luck and also oponents can be stronger any time...so in order to make his words come true..he just cant stope ...he has to keep us his hard work and move like this type of positive and effective attitudes

Sham

October 15, 2003, 10:08 PM

Rajin says all the right things.

Carte Blanche

October 15, 2003, 10:09 PM

I'm really impressed. This kid's sure got some fire in his belly.

Fingers crossed.

pagol-chagol

October 15, 2003, 10:26 PM

He said some right things. But, he definitely belittled the kids team's achievements. He mentioned the bad batting but neglected to mention the great bowling. I guess he wasn't born when our national teams used to get blown away by the visiting MCC teams. He also needs to understand that by belittling the other team he may have insulted Hannan Sarker and damaged the team chemistry.

tnb

October 15, 2003, 10:33 PM

Spot on Pagol-chagol !
Hope he will cover all grounds in future.
Man, do i feel uneasy writing ur handle after reading ur post.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by tnb]

Tehsin

October 15, 2003, 10:56 PM

I can't argue with you all.

However, don't want Rajin to be a Mohsin Kamal - specially with England being the opponent.

The boy has guts. Something, I have noticed with most of the younger cricketers.

tnb

October 15, 2003, 11:07 PM

Just read in Bhorer Kagoj, Nafees thinks Giles is a 'very ordinery' spinner. Which he is, but they need to be a little diplomatic. And , for Nafees he is a captain! 'Guess he is really U-19.

Yah, one thing for sure they have guts.

Tehsin

October 15, 2003, 11:10 PM

I wouldn't call the guy who has taken so many wickets and representing England and ordinary spinner. The boy needs some lecture in diplomacy and I think tnb just volunteered.

Arnab

October 15, 2003, 11:16 PM

Rajin said nothing wrong. Are you guys aware of how Ganguly speaks?

pagol-chagol

October 15, 2003, 11:18 PM

No doubt, Rajin has guts and determination. But, to be an effective captain you have to be intelligent and dipomatic - careful about not hurting your teammate's ego unnecessarily.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by pagol-chagol]

pagol-chagol

October 15, 2003, 11:19 PM

The fact that Ganguly is even more wrong does not mean that Rajin is right.

Arnab

October 15, 2003, 11:22 PM

Well. I think being honest ranks way higher than being diplomatic.

But ultimately, every captain should follow the immortal words of Roosevelt:

"Always speak softly. But carry with you a big stick."

crazyisland

October 15, 2003, 11:26 PM

Originally posted by tnb
Just read in Bhorer Kagoj, Nafees thinks Giles is a 'very ordinery' spinner. Which he is, but they need to be a little diplomatic. And , for Nafees he is a captain! 'Guess he is really U-19.

Yah, one thing for sure they have guts.

I think he did just fine. English do that all the time. Anyway not suggesting any tit for tat but I think nothing wrong expressing your honest opinion. It helps to demoralize the opponents.

tnb

October 15, 2003, 11:28 PM

Ganguly is offensive to the opponents but careful enough not to hurt his teammates ego. Rajin lost control there I think. After Hannan already praised their performance for the draw, Rajin's comment can be seen as an attempt to belittle the kids effort even though he did not mean it.

About Nafees, I just checked he even did not face Giles.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by tnb]

rafiq

October 15, 2003, 11:29 PM

I think you guys are stuck very deep in Bangali over-analysis mode. no offense intended..carry on ;)

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by rafiq]

pagol-chagol

October 15, 2003, 11:32 PM

To really understand overanalysis you have to go to the message boards of American sports fans or European soccer fans. We are nothing. Novices.

Arnab

October 15, 2003, 11:33 PM

There you go. I mean feeling insulted over a remark about a practice match seems comical, given we are the worst test team in the world.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by Arnab]

Upal

October 15, 2003, 11:33 PM

Ganguly is offensive to the opponents but careful enough not to hurt his teammates ego. Rajin lost control there I think. After Hannan already praised their performance for the draw, Rajin's comment can be seen as an attempt to belittle the kids effort even though he did not mean it.

damn, how did Rajin lose control? He simply pointed out that the Bangladesh A squad is a stronger team than the Presidents XI side which was mostly composed of u-19 players. This was in no way, shape, or form, a shot at Hannan. Rajin simply pointed out a fact. Some of you guys are misinterpreting his quote to the highest level!

pagol-chagol

October 15, 2003, 11:38 PM

Honesty in a relationship is good. As a leader you have to be diplomatic and extreamely watchful about not stepping on your friends' toes.

I don't think Rajin was out of control. He is just a kid who is very confident even to the point of cocky - which is not such a bad thing for a sportsman.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by pagol-chagol]

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by pagol-chagol]

tnb

October 15, 2003, 11:50 PM

Hey, we are from Bangladesh, so are the players. Some of them can interpret like us too. There is nothing wrong to be cautious when u are a captain.
And I did not say he intentionally used sentences with hidden meanings.

Just hoping that he will be careful. We are looking for some captain, who can serve us for long time. That's the main reason for this kind of 'over-analysis'. .:)

Rho

October 15, 2003, 11:50 PM

I am not sure if I like Rajin's tone!
I think if anything that is NOT how a future captain should speak! Is he aware of Bangladesh's record test record? In all likelihood the Bangladesh team won't fare as well as the Pres. XI, because of inconsistencies, over confidence and England's improved performance (on account of playing a real match) etc. He sounds like an ultra zealous boy, who will hopefully learn in time the art of "respecting oppositions" as well as "hiding one's over-confidence" of their own team!
And we should not jump to conclusion about his abilities as a captain. A captain needs to do much more than just speak!

Arnab

October 16, 2003, 12:02 AM

i love this sort of chayer cup-ey jhor tola discussion

Sham

October 16, 2003, 12:03 AM

I'm just shocked. You guys are now saying that Rajin was a cocky little twat?Come on guys. He is gonna lead a side out, he should sound every bit confident and even cocky if he wants to. Have you guys not seen the Australian way? Isn't part of being the best side winning the mental war of words? His comments were aimed at the opposition, forget about what you did against BCBP XII, we are a tougher team and we are gonna give you guys a run for you money! Thats exactly what he should say. He wasn't intending to belittle the performance of the other team, neither was he being over-confident.

Rho

October 16, 2003, 12:08 AM

talk is cheap.
let England beat the nuts out of Rajin's team then we'll see where all your confidence on his captaincy ability goes!
Rajin is yet to do anything in test cricket that a Bangladeshi hasn't done before.
truth is he was being a lil brat and that's that!

Arnab

October 16, 2003, 12:11 AM

I don't know, Rajin seems to have the goods and he's delivered them so far.

Lest you forget, he currently has the higest number of centuries in BD first class cricket.

rafiq

October 16, 2003, 12:12 AM

why are you so worked up , rho bro? Is it some deep ill-will towards:

1. rajin"s team
2. rajin himself
3. the bangaldesh team
4. any newcomers who does well and stand up to the english
5. none of the above, you just want to keep us honest?

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by rafiq]

Sham

October 16, 2003, 12:18 AM

It almost sounds like you want Rajin to fail! Look, no one is confident about his captaincy ability. We just like what he had to say. Think about it this way, how many captains say, I am gonna lead from the front? Not to many. Because they dont want to put extra pressure on themselves on top of what they usually have. They don't usually like promising something, in case they wont deliver. Not our man Rajin, he knows what he has to do and he has the conviction to say it out loud.

I'd rather have a captain who has that conviction in his own ability and that of his team's than someone who makes a stupid diplomatic comment about trying to provide a fight. Even if he fails, I'm happy that he said what he said.

Arnab

October 16, 2003, 12:28 AM

More quotes from Rajin:

“We need a better result than the previous game as it would help boost our confidence for the Test series. A draw would be my minimum desire in the clash. However, we will try our best to win it”.

----------------------

“Forced into follow-on and desperately trying to save the game is not the kind of draw I am talking about. If I see that a draw is unavoidable then my goal would be to dominate the game till the last hour.”

--------------------------

"They have a balanced side with a good combination of swing bowlers and some decent spinners. Moreover, their batting is very well organised. I have hardly seen them playing any ‘airy-fairy’ shot in the first match.”

Rho

October 16, 2003, 12:29 AM

Rajin has shown promise yes. He's played only 3 tests. Are we forgetting that?
Still I am no way discounting Rajin's promise of great things to come as far as his batting goes. But those great things are not here yet.
I am neither against Rajin, his team or Bangaldesh of course not!
I am merely pointing out a character flaw (again judging by only one speech!), he is thinking too much of himself because he feels he has achieved a lot. I do not know if he is actually that way, but pampering such behavior will surely get him to be that way!
I like forwardness and aggresiveness, but when you compare with the Aussies, you are forgetting Aussies have proven themselves to the words and then some!
I wouldn't give a wink about all this, if Rajin had scored centuries in all 3 test matches, has flawless captaincy record in some other matches etc. So, to sum it up, he doesn't have deeds to back up his words. The best thing he can do right now is to "earn" his respect, rather than telling everyone to respect him. And it's just sad that we're all OH LA LA about some silly comments he made!!!

wow! I had no idea all this was to come about from the mother post :) Rho bhai! I think you are totally misinterpreting Rajin's comments. His comments were that of a leader who was leading his men into battle! His comments were about the attitude of his team! His comments raised the bar for his team and that was precisely his intention...not put any one down! From the performance on the first day, you can see that he was spot on! This team fought all the way. The partnerships all the way to the end showed the fighting attitude that his comments so obviously smack of. Lets see how he leads his team on the field tomorrow. I am preparing myself to be pleasantly surprised. So did the first day's play do justice to his comments? I leave that to you. To me, he looks like a born leader.

[Edited on 16-10-2003 by pompous]

Ockey

October 16, 2003, 09:03 PM

Let me start off by saying that Rajin is well rounded sportsman. He seems to have decipline on and off the field, he has excellent work ethics, he is confident, he plays with purpose and he gets the job done. These are things we DON'T see in most, if not all, of the BD young "gutsy" cricketers. The guy admits he isn't most talented player out there but has worked hard to get where he is now. I'll go as far as saying he is the one player in the BD team that I consider as being a calibre required to play at the international arena, even though some might argue it's too early to judge him. Unlike the oh-so-many young talents that come and go in the national team, I for one can say with certainty that Rajin has earned his place and will be able to show consistancy in the future.

One another note, I was somewhat surprised by Rajin's appointment as captain. It surprised me because Javed Omar was included in the side and seemed like a natural choice given his experience and seniority. Anyway, Rajin has done well so far and I hope he doesn't give me reason to ponder over his appointment later.

Sham

October 16, 2003, 09:34 PM

Well, Rajin's real test will be today. It will be interesting to see how well he can motivate his team, especially at times when England will be on top. The batsmen seem to have responded to him, now we'll see how the bowler's respond to his captaincy.

BangladeshCricket

October 16, 2003, 09:48 PM

Rajin's comment and expectation is positive. he played positive today for third wicket pertnership though his contribution is so so but he atleast resist the collapse. Let's see how he controls the pressure in bowling. If you can play good why not raise your expectations and also hope for a positive result by giving bold statements!!!